#elxn2015

‘Trade wins hands down’: Why leaders may seize TPP as a wedge issue

With the announcement of a tentative deal on the Trans Pacific Partnership landing at the tail end of a marathon federal election campaign, voters can expect the party leaders to use it as a wedge issue, says one polling expert.

Canada is one of 12 nations that came to a tentative agreement Monday, following five days of round-the-clock negotiations. The TPP trade agreement would encompass about 40 per cent of the world’s economy, and eliminate barriers for certain Canadian exports.

While the agreement will still need to be ratified by national governments, all of the main party leaders have already staked their positions on the agreement.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has hailed the deal as a way of opening up new markets for Canada and creating new jobs. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has reserved judgment until more details are revealed, but has said his party is “pro-trade.” Meanwhile, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair has stated that his party won’t be bound by the sweeping trade agreement, which he accused the Tories of negotiating in “secret.”

Shachi Kurl, senior vice-president of the Angus Reid Institute, said the tentative agreement will be seen as a major win for the Conservatives among their base.

“This is a winner with Conservative supporters,” she told CTV’s Canada AM from Vancouver, noting that Canadians are generally supportive of trade.

“When you stack it up against other foreign policy imperatives that Canada should be pursuing, looking at foreign aid or humanitarian efforts or beefing up our military or trade – trade wins hands down with Canadians,” she said.

Mulcair is also looking to win support with his stance on the deal, Kurl said, noting that the NDP leader appears to be using the agreement to differentiate himself from the other leaders. (Source: CTV News)

Muslim women sound off on ‘stupid’ niqab debate

Many prominent Muslim women in Canada say they have heard enough of the niqab debate and are ready for federal leaders to shift their sights toward issues, they say, matter.

The Canadian Council of Muslim Women held an event Sunday in Toronto to hand out awards and discuss concerns in their communities. There was also an opportunity for debate between political parties on where they stand on issues affecting Muslim women in Canada.

But the debate continued to focus on wedge issues rather than major themes affecting all Canadians. That did not sit well with some Muslim women, who say the topic is “just a way to gain votes” ahead of the Oct. 19 election.

“Right now, the federal government is talking about women and [the] niqab, which is not an issue, even for Muslims,” said Zarqa Nawaz, the creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie.

“We’re in a recession, what is the plan to go forward? Those are the things I want to talk about. Not about women in [the] niqab and why she can’t sing the national anthem with her face covered. That’s just stupid.”

Maryam Dadabyoy, community relations officer for the National Council on Canadian Muslims, appeared annoyed with the niqab conversation. She says the federal government should be inclusive of all Canadians.
“It’s an issue that won’t go away and it’s not even that important,” Dadabyoy said.

“We need to see a government that just makes us feel more a part of the community and not being ostracized,” she continued. “Not very many women do wear [the] niqab, but it’s being thrown in everyone’s face.” (Source: CBC News)

May has also been left off the podium at the Munk Debates on foreign policy in Toronto and a French-language debate on TVA.

The Green Party Leader criticized Harper and Mulcair for their plans to skip the traditional televised leader’s debate, which is scheduled for Oct. 7. (Source: CTV News)

SATIRE FACT CHECK

By Bruce MacKinnon

By Terry Mosher

Same take by two of Canada’s great editorial cartoonists. Excluding political leaders based on their gender fits well with the stuffy old image of “Canada’s National Newspaper” from a bygone era. Was former NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin excluded in debates in the 1980s, or Alexa McDonough in the 90’s, or Kim Campbell, or more recently Pauline Marois, Kathleen Wynne, or Rachel Notley, just to name a few? No. With respects to my cartoonist colleagues, playing the gender card in this case is a bit disingenuous – Women have been leading political parties throughout Canada for the last 40 years. It’s not about Ms. May’s gender that excluded her from the debate, it’s her fringe party’s low ranking in the polls. It’s also why for every 500 or so main three party cartoons we satirists serve up only a few that actually include the Green Party. When a veteran politician of nearly 10 years finds defence in editorial cartoons then maybe, just maybe, the gig for that politician is up.

The Liberal Party has removed another Alberta candidate for expressing views that it says don’t conform to the party’s values.

In a statement Wednesday, the party said Chris Austin is no longer a candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland.

“New information was brought to our attention which led to the revocation of his green light status, ending his candidacy,” the party said.

“Some of Chris Austin`s views, as articulated in past comments, are irreconcilable with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada.”

Facebook posts still visible on Chris Austin’s page include comments made after the Oct. 22 shootings in Ottawa that said “Harper has turned our Nation’s Capital into a War Zone as his thirst for War,” and suggest the RCMP was the “Canadian Gestapo.”

This riding will be the party’s second nomination do-over in this campaign.

The Liberal candidate in Calgary–Nose Hill, Ala Buzreba, apologized and resigned earlier in the campaign for things she said on Twitter when she was 16.

A third Alberta candidate fingered for off-colour remarks, Chris Brown in Peace River-Westlock, apologized for making profanity-laced remarks on Twitter, attributing them to booze-fuelled anger over the death of his partner in an accident involving a drunk driver. He remains on the ballot.

All three parties have had similar candidate controversies in recent weeks, in a growing list of social media trip-ups.

The deadline for all parties to nominate their slates of candidates in advance of the Oct. 19 federal election is Sept. 28. (Source: CBC News)

Lynton Crosby, Australian strategist, hired by Tories to boost political fortunes

Stephen Harper is going Down Under to come up on top.

With polls suggesting the Conservatives are struggling in third place, the party has reached out to Lynton Crosby, a top Australian political campaign strategist who has been credited with securing victories for British Prime Minister David Cameron and other right-leaning leaders.

Crosby, known as the “Wizard of Oz” for his string of political successes, is working with the Tories as their campaign tries to regain momentum after a series of negative headlines.

But the exact role he will play is unclear. Conservative campaign spokesman Kory Teneycke would only say that “Crosby is somebody that pretty much everyone in our organization has known for a long time, we’ve had a lot of cross-pollination over the years with our friends in Australia and also the U.K.”

Teneycke wouldn’t get into details, but denied Crosby was running the campaign, adding, however, “he’s been around for a very long time and continues to be around.”

2011-2015

Crosby is widely acknowledged for playing a key role in the surprising majority victory of Cameron’s Conservative Party in Britain this year. He was also the national campaign director for the successful campaigns of former Australia prime minister John Howard in 1998 and 2001 and was behind the winning London mayoral campaigns of Boris Johnson in 2008 and 2012.

He has been described as the Australian Karl Rove, after the key adviser to former U.S president George W. Bush. According to a Guardian profile of him, Crosby employs the strategy of wedge politics — finding an issue that can be exploited to split off an opponent’s traditional supporters. (Source: CBC News)